[Grovenet] draft vs. volunteer

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

David wrote:

...my suggestion for a universal military/alternative service may  
be smaller than you envision.  I propose that all citizens and  
resident aliens go through basic infantry training (command  
structure, physical training, small arms training, hand-to-hand  
training, medical training) and then be reserve for some time  
period.  That way they could become "cannon fodder" anytime we needed  
them.  And they could anticipate being called to that role every time  
the central government starts to rattle their sabers at foreign  
governments.

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Yes. Mandatory active reserve like I served. About one year total of
full-time active duty and five years of once-a-month training exercises
covering a weekend. 

The active duty time is divided into six months contiguous duty during which
one goes through basic military training plus advanced schooling in a
particular area. The rest occurs two or three weeks at a time once per year
at a military facility somewhere in which reserve units train as a unit and
learn to work together.

If there is war, that intensive training is a life-saver. The reason so few
reserve troops came home from Korea was that it was not implemented until
after the Korean conflict. Those reservists never got the intensive
month-after-month training we did before they found themselves in combat. 

Ron D'Eau Claire